Patrick stood in the parking lot of the mall writing a ticket for a parking violation. The night shift he hoped would bring some more action then just writing tickets and handling break-ins. He thought wrong. He stood there filling out the ticket, checking the license number and all the other necessary info for filling out the ticket. When he was finished filling the ticket out he placed it under the windshield wiper blade.

Officer Smith walked towards the mall entrance. He moved quickly and tried to stay in the light of the street lamps as he proceeded. Earlier this evening he was assigned the duty of questioning some of the mall workers about a disappearance of a young gentleman. Supposedly he was last seen in the mall with a shady young girl, or at least that was the story. He let out a long sigh as arrived at the doors and entered Middleton Mall.

He glanced around. This place seemed very dull at night, not many people were here. He looked around at the advertisement displayed on the billboards. A new first person shooter just came out for the Xbox 360, he would invest in that when off duty. Next to that was a fancy and incredibly expansive perfume being advertised on a light up poster. Finally a movie poster for some new vampire blockbuster. He shook his head and moved on looking for a good place to start his questioning.

There's a dusty young man slouching (and slouching is the word) through the mall, looking for shoes. He needs new shoes. Not that he'll find them here, but then, he's here for something else as well.

He's out of place, even without anyone around him to be out of place to. He's dusty and haggard and wrong, somehow.

His hair is uncombed, with dark circles under his eyes, and an unhealthy pallor. He has a very, very scraggly beard.

He slouches past a police man, keeping one eye on the man out of old habit. Even if he doesn't carry drugs around in his coat pockets these days, he still isn't comfortable about any kind of official types.

Patrick walked down the mall glancing around at the different stores. It was no use, nobody here knew about this missing young man. He shook his head in disgust, the brass was not going to like the fact he found nothing. He turned around and noticed the dusty young man. He looked out of place, maybe a street bum. Patrick took a step forward and something in his chest felt wrong, like he was walking into something. The officer walked up to the young man. "Can I ask your business here sir?" Patrick asked.

Ratter looked the (older? younger?) man over slowly, insolently. "No, you can't."

He smiles crookedly. "I'm shopping, what's it look like?"

A reasonable question. A very insulting tone.

Ratter, you see, does not take well to authority figures. He resents them, in fact. He goes out of his way to do things they don't like, except when he's going out of his way to prove that they're incompetent.

Lovely lad, is Ratter.

"Sir, we are going to step outside." Patrick said. He stood infront of him and motioned for the door. "Right now as a matter of fact." Patrick hated dragging people to his police car when they refused to cooperate.

"Whatever."

Still, this should be interesting.

So Ratter does what he's told, like a good little boy, with only that crooked smile of his to tell you that he's planning something naughty.

Though if you knew Ratter at all, you'd know that he's always planning naughty, naughty things.

The smile on Ratter's face bugged Patrick a bit. Whats he so happy about? he wondered. He led the young man out to his police car. He went around to the drivers side and opened the door and stepped inside. He glanced at Ratter and got a bad feeling in his gut. He reached over to a control pannel and pushed down on a red switch. He looked back at Ratter. "Can I see your ID." Patrick asked with a hint of a command in his voice rather than a question.

"You don't need to see my ID." There's a hint of command in Ratter's tone too, as well as that odd power of persuasion that he traded his heartbeat for. As a mortal, Patrick should be easily swayed by that hint of power.

He leans casually against the hood of the car, looking up at the overcast sky.

So very relaxed, is Ratter.

"Did you need something specific, or are we just passing the time?"

Ratter takes it as a given that he's owed an explanation. Ratter's like that.

Ratter's persuasion on Patrick left him in a blank for a few minutes. Patrick who had seen 5 years of military service and been in the top of his class in college had a sharp mind. Yet the fact he seemed to think he did not want this man's ID confused him. It took him a few seconds to come to. "I was just going... Wait what?" Patrick said shaking his head. "No I need your name or ID please." He said still slightly confused.

"Richard. My name is Richard."

That's all you need to know, whispers a persuasive voice.

Ratter can't change the mind of mortals at a whim (yet), and his words don't have hypnotic power, but he can persuade. Oh yes, he can persuade.

Patrick slowly nodded his head. He picked up his two way radio. "Echo 293 I have a young man by the name of Richard, can I get an ID." Patrick asked. He gave a description of Ratter or Richard as he called himself. "Negative Echo 73 we get no matches on any suspect of that description." a voice said over the radio. Patrick set down the radio and looked at Ratter. "I don't need anything else, your free to go."

"Tell me about yourself." While the tone is casual, that's a command.

Ratter's made no move to move.

If you can't tell, Ratter's bored.

(As a side note, he wouldn't normally be this way around a mortal. But you see, he doesn't like the uniformed types. At all. He's treating each individual mortal as an individual, aren't you proud of him?)

(I don't know, Ok as long as he does not try to kill me)

Patrick looked at Ratter. His words seemed to wash over him. Again Patrick shook his head confused. He seemed want to obey Ratter's question. "I'm a new police officer here. I just got done at the academy and out of the National Guard." He said looking at him.

((For future reference, that wasn't an out of character note. I use ooc or double parentheticals for those. That was just me being silly.))

"Really... that's interesting. What's your name?"

Ratter is being positively playful tonight. Rather like a playful cat, actually, complete with 'playmate'.

This is because Patrick irritates him. For the record.

"My name is Patrick." He said, althought he could not put his finger on why. He gazed outwards and a car came by. Its brights were on and for a moment it blinded Patrick. He snapped away from Ratter, and mentaly as well. Soon he ragained control of himself. He snapped his gaze back up at Ratter, he was pist and angry. "OFF MY CAR." He snapped.

"Hey, man." Ratter smiles at him. "Chill."

Nothing the matter here, no sir. Just a casual conversation.

With this dirty, disreputable looking young rat.

"Patrick's a nice name."

As if the whole losing-mental-control thing hadn't happened. As if everything was completely normal.

Because Ratter is an obstinant bastard, you see.

He was to upset to be presuaded anymore. "CHILL!" he screamed. "OFF MY FRACKING CAR!" he yelled. He pulled out his night stick and pointed it at Ratter. "OFF and on your knees."

"No." He grins, not quite showing the characteristic teeth, but with a slightly, mm, feral quality to the expression.

The stick? It does not really make Ratter feel very threatened. I'm sorry, but it just doesn't.

"It is a nice car, I must say. Shiny."

He isn't a car person, but it's shiny, and shiny things are fun.

Who doesn't like shiny things, eh?

Patrick got into his car, started it and put it in reverse dumping Ratter onto the ground. "I said on your knees." he shouted. He got back out of his car, turning it off and pulling back out his night stick and handcuffs.

Excuse me? Dumping Ratter on the ground?

I don't think so.

Ratter, you see, is quite capable of getting off the car while it's moving, and then sitting back down once it has stopped.

Because you see, he's talented like that.

Also he's stubborn, arrogant and obstinant. But you probably noticed that before.

"And I said no," he answers, as if to one hard of hearing. "Should I speak up? I didn't realize you were deaf, so very sorry."

He isn't sorry. He's sarcastic.

"Echo 293 need a t code 3 down in the norht parking lot at Middleton mall." he said into his radio. "Roger 73 backup is on the way."

Patrick pulled out his handgun again. "OFF the car." He barked. He pointed it at Ratter's chest. "Now!"

"No."

Ratter is, honestly, rather amused.

"I can sue ya for police brutality, mister mighty police officer."

What, you're really going to shoot a man, point blank, who didn't commit a crime or even carry a weapon?

Yeah, that'll look great on the police report.